According to legend, St. Nicholas of Myra (whom Santa Claus is based on) was in attendance at the Council of Nicea, the historic council that condemned the false teaching of Arianism. In short, Arianism was a heresy that claimed that Jesus is the greatest of all created beings but lesser than God.
According to the story, at one point during the council’s proceedings, St. Nicholas allegedly became so frustrated with an Arian delegate’s blasphemy that he punched him in the face! Nicholas’ fellow council members had to scold Old Saint Nick and put him briefly in “time out,” so to speak, even if they were in agreement with his theology.
Ultimately, the church reaffirmed the apostolic doctrine of the Trinity and proclaimed that Jesus is “homoousious” (that he is “the same essence” as God the Father and “truly God” himself). It was in this council that the church produced the first draft of what would become the Nicene Creed (also known as the Apostle’s Creed), which to this day is the most universally confessed creed in all of Christianity.
This story reminds us of three things:
1. Speaking about Jesus accurately is very important
Some people think of Jesus as simply a good moral teacher, but he is more than that! He is fully God in the flesh. This is what we celebrate on Christmas: the one true God becoming human.
2) Acting like Jesus accurately is just as important
Yet at the same time, there are many “Christians” that might have solid doctrine but do not look or sound ANYTHING like Jesus in their words or actions. They have devoted their mind to Jesus, but not their heart. They give lip service to Jesus but treat others poorly. It is those people of whom I worry that Jesus will say at the end, “I never knew you.” It’s important to have good doctrine about Jesus, but it’s also important to have the heart of Jesus. After all, loving God and loving others go hand in hand.
3) Confessing our sins to Jesus is also important
Finally, this story shows us that Christians are just as sinful as non-Christians (oftentimes more so!), and we are not any “better.” We are saved purely by grace alone through faith alone. Not by our works. And we must throw ourselves upon the mercy of Jesus, who waits for us with open arms. And if we do that, we will find ourselves becoming more and more like Him as time passes.